


Please. Stop. Helping.

by MusicalLuna



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Aromantic Steve Rogers, Asexual Character, Asexual Steve Rogers, Asexuality, Avengers Family, Coming Out, Friendship, Gen, Matchmaker Natasha Romanov, Microaggressions, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers-centric, Supportive Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-10-14 16:05:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10539873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalLuna/pseuds/MusicalLuna
Summary: Natasha keeps trying to set Steve up on dates and it finally gets to be too much.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous asked:  
> Are you still taking shitty day prompts? My parents were hassling me about not being in a relationship and being all dismissive and shit again and I'm feeling really stressed and crappy so is there anyway you could write about asexual/aromantic Steve?  
> \--  
> i’m sorry to hear your family is being so unpleasant about all of that. you’re perfect just the way you are. *hugs* i hope this helps a little

“What about Delossa?”

Natasha’s trying to be helpful, Steve knows that. It’s not her fault. She doesn’t know, she can’t know. But—

“She’s nice,” Natasha goes on. “Has a dog. A malamute. Super fluffy—”

Steve puts the frying pan in his hand down on the stove a little too hard. There’s a loud crack from the stovetop and when he looks down there’s a jagged line splitting diagonally across the surface. He swears and and flips the burner off with a snap before he burns the damn Tower down.

Behind him, the kitchen has gone very quiet.

Slowly, deliberately, Steve lets out a breath and forces his shoulders to relax.

“Steve?” Bruce says cautiously. “What’s going on?”

He doesn’t really want to do this, especially not here, not now, but it feels like he’s going to burst out of his skin, his ears burning. If they ask him one more time—

“Is it what I said?” Natasha asks.

Before he can think better of it, he snaps, “Yes.”

Guilt has crept into Natasha’s voice when she says, “I’m making you uncomfortable.”

“Yes,” he says again, but the anger is draining out of him. He rubs a hand over his eyes and then turns and leans back into the counter. He sighs. “I should have said something.”

“Communication does help,” Tony says and Clint snorts.

“Because that’s your specialty.”

“Shut up, just because I’m not great at it doesn’t mean I don’t know what you’re supposed to do.”

“Please stop trying to set me up with people,” Steve says and can’t help the pleading note that slips into his voice.

When Steve brings himself to look at her, Natasha looks guilty, her hands folded between her knees. “I should have noticed it bothered you,” she says. “I’m sorry, Steve. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Not that that matters. I—” She stops herself, swallows down the words he can tell are trying to get out. After a pause, she repeats, “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” he says and smiles crookedly. It’s a relief to have it said and he knows Natasha well enough now to know she’ll respect the request. The whole thing is new to him and…okay, maybe he hasn’t said anything because if he says it out loud, that will make it real. He grew up with the expectation that one day he’d get married and have a family and adjusting to the fact that he’s not interested in that—at all—and that it’s fine, normal even, is…it’s an adjustment. But if he can tell anyone, it should be these people.

He’s grateful when Thor says, “We would listen, if you wish to talk.”

“I think I’m aro-ace,” he ends up blurting. “Aromantic and asexual. Um. I don’t feel romantically or sexually attracted to. To anyone. It’s not that I— That I don’t have feelings— I had a lot for Peggy—I did. I just, I didn’t realize there were other options. That it didn’t have to involve kissing or—sex. But I’ve been reading and I was on Wikipedia—”

Tony hums knowingly. “You got into a click spiral.”

Steve ignores that, because he has no idea what it means.

“Truly, you have no desire for sex?” Thor says, marveling. “That must be liberating indeed.”

“Is that a thing?” Clint says. “I didn’t know that was a thing.”

Steve crosses his arms, shrugs. “Yeah, apparently.”

Natasha groans and leans forward over the counter burying her head in her arms. “Oh my god, that explains so much, I’m sorry. God, I’m really sorry, Steve.”

Steve blinks. “You—you know what that is?”

“Well, I’m graysexual, I’m familiar.”

Steve stares. “You are?”

She smiles. “Yeah. In another life I might have been heterosexual, but we’re in this one and I’m not, so.”

“I’m not familiar with those terms,” Bruce says. “Aromantic and asexual you said?” He swipes a hand across the table to activate the tabletop display. “It makes sense, I don’t know why this never occurred to me. It stands to reason that if there are people who prefer the same sex and people who prefer the opposite that there would be a portion of the population that prefers none at all.”

Steve blinks at him, something warm and silly bubbling up inside him. “Really?”

Bruce looks up. “Sure. The variations and permutations of traits in the natural world are endless. Besides, if that’s how you feel, that’s how you feel. Why shouldn’t we respect that?”

It’s foolish, but that makes him feel better than anything else has so far, and he’s been reading about the experiences of other aro-ace people for weeks. But Bruce is a scientist and there’s something reassuring about his easy acceptance.

Tony leans forward, elbows on the table. “So do you want us to run interference for you at interviews? You’re America’s poster boy and people are idiots. They’re gonna be asking you when you’ll find a nice girl and settle down until the day you die. We can intervene, if you want.”

“No,” Steve says, but it makes him feel giddy that Tony’s even asking. “I can handle that. Thank you though.”

Natasha slips around the counter and sidles up next to him. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable,” she says, voice low. “I would never want to—” She sighs. “I was very stupid.”

“It’s not entirely your fault,” Steve allows. “I could have told you any time to knock it off.”

“Still, I’m supposed to be an expert at reading people.”

Steve smirks. “It’s a lot tougher when you’re emotionally involved.”

Natasha lets out a sharp breath of laughter. “That’s true.”

Steve reels her into a one-armed hug and she relaxes, curling her arms around his waist. “You were trying to make me happy and I appreciate that, if not the way you went about it.” He looks around at his teammates, all gathered around Bruce and researching his sexuality (or lack thereof) and being more respectful than he could have ever imagined and his heart swells. He’s got everything he could possibly need. He squeezes Natasha. “Looks like it worked anyway.”

Natasha looks up at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. This. You guys make me happy.”

“Good,” Natasha says and hugs him tighter. “That’s all I ever wanted.”


End file.
